Two events!
5PM FROM MIT TO THE ANIME INDUSTRY
Mon. April 24 • 5:00-6:30pm in 14E-304
Join us for an informal conversation with Jennifer Fu. Jennifer Fu is an alum of MIT (2011) who majored in Management Science (course 15) and Comparative Media Studies (CMS). She currently works at at Funimation Entertainment as a Brand Manager. Funimation is one of the leading distributors of anime in North America.
7PM ANIME FILM SCREENING – MOMOTARO, SACRED SAILORS
MON. APRIL 24 at 7:00pm in 34-101
MIT Campus, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Free and open to public
Screening followed by discussion with Ian Condry (MIT) and Jennifer Fu (Funimation)
About the film
“Momotaro, Sacred Sailors” is a feature-length, animated, war propaganda film made in Japan. It was written and directed by Mitsuyo Seo, and released in 1945 during the final months of World War II. It is the first Japanese feature-length animated film.
Short synopsis
On the eve of a parachute mission during the war in the Pacific, a group of navy paratroopers, a monkey, a dog, a pheasant, and a bear, go home for a brief visit before heading off with their squadron to their base in the South Pacific. Lead by boy warrior Momotaro, the squadron prepares to attack the enemy on Devil’s Island. On the eve before the attack, we learn why Momotaro and his squadron are called “sacred sailors.” A story is told of a ship with white men arriving at a beautiful island. The captain tricks the king into thinking they are merchants and he welcomes them on the island. Quickly thereafter, the crew reveal themselves as pirates and then plunder the island. All that remained was a legend that “sacred sailors will come from the east” who will “free the people.” Momotaro and his compatriots are these sacred sailors. The attack on Devil’s Island finally begins. The paratroopers quickly overpower the horned, white devils, who then surrender to Momotaro unconditionally. Peace returns to the South Pacific.
About the speakers
Ian Condry is Professor of Japanese Cultural Studies at MIT. He is a cultural anthropologist who specializes in media, popular culture, and globalization with a focus on contemporary Japan and the US. His current research interests include social media, in particular the ways platforms for creative communities offer new possibilities for education, the arts, global health, business and political participation.
Jennifer Fu is an alum of MIT (2011) who majored in Management Science (course 15) and Comparative Media Studies (CMS). She currently works at at Funimation Entertainment as a Brand Manager. Funimation is one of the leading distributors of anime in North America.